Oh cool, you're in France? I'm headed there for a vacation in August and was wondering if you had any suggestions for some cool places to visit
Ooh.
I’m currently staying in a terrace apartment in the 10th arrondissement, which is super close to Thanx God I’m a VIP, which is an amazing vintage store. They have one for men and one for women - all clothes and accessories are organized by color. They currently have a ton of designers - Courreges, Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Missoni, Jean Paul Gautier, Chanel, etc. I managed to get a silk aubergine Louis Vuitton tunic for 75 Euros!
I love hanging out in Le Marais, 3rd arrondissement. Particularly down the Rue Vielle du Temple. Lots of amazing stuff there, cute boutiques, very gay-friendly, many interesting concept stores (combining cafe with shopping), book stores (librairies) and delicious things to munch on.
If you like manga and comics, I suggest getting to the Left Bank, specifically at Rue Saint-Jacques and Boulevard Saint-Germain. There are about six comics and manga shop in that area, filled with amazing art and dolls for about every fandom you could imagine.
Museums that are off-beat and really fun:
Musee de la Magie - so bizarre, they also have a separate section for wind-up toys that creepily remind me of the opening credits for American Horror Story: Freak Show
Musee de Chasse et de la Nature - not for vegetarians, since this is partially a taxidermy museum. But it’s also a bit absurdist and surreal. There’s a Unicorn Room. Anyway, if you’re suffering from art and history overload, this is a good palate cleanser.
As for the usual tourist trap-oriented museums, I mostly enjoyed the Petit-Palais, the National Picasso Museum and the Carnavalet Museum (the third floor is all about the French Revolution and many of the art/objects descriptions have English translations). We also avoided Versailles because of the wait and instead went out of town to Fontainebleu - amazing alternative, massively ornate.
As for eating, don’t use Yelp too much. Most of the best restaurants aren’t even listed on there. Just plan your day around an area you wish to explore and just walk around and look at the menus; if it looks good, eat there! :)
Some open air markets to visit:
Rue Daguerre and Marche des Enfants-Rouge - Daguerre has lovely poissoniere, boulangerie, cave de vins, gelato, legumes et fruit. I particularly loved the seafood tower I had there - oysters, crab, shrimp, clams, whelks, etc. for about 23 Euros. Can’t beat that. At des Enfants-Rouge, they have amazing Moroccan dishes and a store that sells these amazing pocket sized vintage photos of different European city sites. My hubby got a deal for packages that had all of Basque country - Hendaye, St. Jean de Luz, San Sebastian and Biarritz. We plan to mat them and have them framed :)
If you’re really adventurous, you can also stop by at this concept store/tiki bar/snack hut, Le Comptoir General. Currently, the owner has on display just about every 80s movie memorabilia you can imagine (I went ape-shit over all The Goonies figurines). It’s a combined exotic grocer’s market/vintage clothing store/hangout. On the weekends, they have amazing brunches that feature street cuisine from around the world. Afterwards, you can have a nice walk along the Canal St. Martin.
Oh, and if you can, try to check out some of the authentic Chinese fare. Time Out has a pretty comprehensive list.
(tumblr is very bad at showing links. I have a few with this post, just so’s you know)
Happy exploring! I’m leaving tomorrow and it’s been one of the best adventures abroad ever :)
